Who Are WE ? | NIT Raipur Seminar, Q&A | 5 Jan 2018 | Juhu | Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī Maharaja

Prasad Raaval ji! So basically, as you know, I am from the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. So all of you are students of NIT, am I right? Is there anybody here who's not a student of NIT? I've always been a non-technical person, to be honest, but I understand the cream of India tries to get admission in the IITs. If they can't get admission in the IITs, then they try for NITs. Am I right? If they can't get from NITs, Then they go to the next level, state colleges. If they can't get into state colleges, they go to the next level to private colleges. Am I right? So, all of you are from the NIT, and that means that all of you are excellent students, otherwise you would not be admitted into the NIT. So we are not against use of technology or study of technology. It is important that we also understand what's the mission of human life, how you can find real happiness. There are so many departments. Last August I lectured at Stanford University in California. You heard of Stanford? It's one of the prestigious universities. And in that university there are 3,200 departments, but not one department that tells you what should be the goal of life. So that is a tragedy. Of modern education. And as you know, modern education is making great progress, but unless we also understand what's the goal of life, everything is a failure. There's a statement in Sanskrit, shrama evohi kevalam, the waste of time. We are now in the first week of January 2018, am I right? And when you wish each other, when you greet each other, what do you do? What do you say? Happy New Year? In Hindi you say, "Naya Samawarak ho." So when you say Happy New Year, what do you really imply? Would any of you like to volunteer the reply? When you say "Happy New Year," what do you really mean? Oh, is that a complicated question? I thought everybody would have their hands up. No one knows? It means, "May you live happily the whole year." All right? And what's your definition of living happily? I may not fall sick, never have doctor darshan. Isn't it? All my stocks should go up. My children should be healthy and happy. My income should go up. This is the so-called concept of happiness. And in 2017, January, He said the same thing, "Happy New Year." Am I right? And he said the same thing in 2016 and 2015, and the same thing in 2000. Am I right? It's like a normal tradition, "Happy New Year." But if you were to analyze the end of 2017, you will see that even though everyone wished you a happy new year, it was actually a sad old year. You still felt sick. Your parents still felt sick. Everything you desired did not happen. So the point I'm trying to make is, in material life we are all trying to be happy. And we think that, "If I can make some money, if I can have a high position, I will be happy." But the ground reality is different. The ground reality is, doesn't matter how much success you may have, you can't find any real happiness in the material world. Let's say you become a business tycoon. You know what's a business tycoon? A very successful businessman, like Ambani or Tata, or become a very successful businessman. How long can you enjoy your empire? Permanently? Yes? No?

No.

You know, over time, so many famous movie stars have come and gone. So many famous sports stars have come and gone. So many powerful politicians have come and gone. So many scientists have come and gone. So analyzing material life, you can see there is nothing but misery. Which takes on various forms. One form that misery takes on, for example, is birth. Universally, when a child is born, is anybody born crying? Yes? No? Why do you do it? No, I've discussed this point with scientists. Around the world, "Can you explain why a child comes out crying?" They have no answer. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the 3rd canto explains. The child in the mother's womb is in a very painful position. Then there is old age. Does anyone like old age? Does anyone like old age? Yes? No? If you want to flatter an old man, tell him how young he looks. And if you want to insult a young man, tell him how old he looks. Am I right? So nobody likes old age. Does anyone like disease? The only ones who like disease are the hospital owners, the doctors, and the pharmaceutical manufacturers. I mean, nobody else likes disease. And certainly nobody likes death. In addition, there are other turbulences, diseases caused by the mind, the other entities, and material nature. So what the Vedic scriptures The word Veda means knowledge. We have to recognize that there are two types of knowledge. One is material knowledge, one is spiritual knowledge. Just like at the NIT, you all are, you all are learning material knowledge, and Those of you who are doing PhD and M.Tech go into a lot of research papers, scholars around the world, isn't it, in your subject. That is material education. You want to keep up with everything. But there is something else beyond that, and that is spiritual education. Spiritual education is absolutely essential. Today we in our country say, "Oh, there is so much corruption." Sab chhona hai. Chhona hai nahi. We say there is so much corruption. In the universities drug abuse is so common. I won't tell you my source, but I've had learned academicians tell me, In many of the prestigious colleges of India, drug abuse is as high as 30%. So why do people turn to drugs? They think that by experimenting with this, we can forget all our worries and go into a dream world, a world of hallucination. But that is temporary. So, also we should realize that time destroys everything. Just like we are in the beginning of 2018 now, and 2017 has just gone by, isn't it? But can you believe it, how fast it has gone? You remember in 2017, you said, "Namaste, Happy New Year." Now you are in 2018. Let's say you are 30 years old. Do you remember how fast your life has gone? So fast, isn't it? How old are you, sir?

37.

Okay. You can see how fast it has gone. So time, Kṛṣṇa says, destroys everything. You have a handsome body, Tomorrow you will not be handsome. You have a beautiful body, tomorrow you will not be beautiful. You have a strong body, tomorrow you will not be strong. Is that true? There was once a lawyer who was about to die. You know how lawyers work. They give you notices. If you don't do this in 2 weeks, we'll— Proceed accordingly. So this lawyer was about to die, so he petitioned Yamraj. You know who Yamraj is? Who knows who Yamraj is? Kon janata Yamraj kona hai? Nobody? Yes, somebody has his hands up. Kona hai? Supervisor of death. He's not messenger, he's the boss. He's the supervisor. He keeps a track of everyone's actions. And so the lawyer told the Yamraj, "You did not give me any notice that I'm going to die. How can you take me so fast?" Yamraj said, "Who told you I didn't give you any notice? How many hair do you have on your head today?" He said, "I'm bald." "How many hair did you have 30 years ago?" He said, "I had blood-black hair." "How strong are your legs now?" "I can't even walk." "How strong were your legs 30 years ago?" "Oh, I was in the Indian cricket team." How good is your eyesight now? I can't even see. How good was it 40 years ago? As sharp as an eagle. Yama said, your hair started turning white, your feet, your legs started getting weak, your eyes started getting weak, your hands started getting weak, and you said, I didn't give you any notice. So we are getting notices every day. But we don't take any attention. So, what does the Bhagavad Gita say? Unfortunately, copy hai, Gita hai. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy with me. Bhagavad Gita says that this knowledge is the king of education. This knowledge tells you how to lead a happy life. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa doesn't say inaction. Rather, He promotes action for the pleasure of the Lord. So time destroys everything. Time is one of the elements created by Kṛṣṇa. Now, veda means knowledge. This knowledge will help you understand what is the goal of life. Veda means knowledge, and this knowledge is flawless. Just like we read the Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita was spoken millions of years ago. We still read it. Why? Because that is eternal wisdom. You may have heard of a word called Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana-dharma means what? That is eternal duty, true yesterday, true today, true tomorrow. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a science. We normally think only what we study in the university is a science. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the science of life, the art of living a happy life. What do we have in society today? Tension. Right, wrong. If I'm wrong, you can stand up and say you're wrong. Tension. Is there right or wrong? Huh?

Stress.

Stress, right or wrong? So much stress. Anxiety. We have anxiety, right or wrong? And we're always in anxiety. What's going to happen next? What's going to happen next? So, we're leading a stressful life. And what do you do to counter that stress? We take tablets, anti-depression tablets, and we need tablets to go to sleep because we have so much anxiety. We have so much technology today. How many of you have smartphones? Kitne aapne kitne ka paas smartphone hai?

Okay.

The smartphone, it's almost like a miracle. Who had thought a day would come we will have a telephone, a video camera, selfie, tape recorder, memory bank, calendar, photo album, you can store millions of pictures, have Facebook, you can have people all over the world following you. Did anyone ever dream of that? So we have all this technology, but all this technology is not going to give you real peace. In fact, if you— I don't know if you know, these smartphones have resulted in families breaking up instead of being united. Everybody is busy playing with the gadgets, and everybody is married to their cell phone, that there's no time for anybody else. There was recently a survey done in India, and some people were asked, 'How long can you live, do you mind living away from your family?' Nearly 80% said they don't mind staying away from the family for a week or two. Next question was, 'How long can you stay away from your cell phone?' They said, 'Not long at all.' So, we're so attached to all these gadgets. We're not against them. But all we are trying to say, this alone will not bring happiness. So the Vedic scriptures of India are actually universal in nature. Bhaktivedanta Swami translated nearly 100 texts into English, which are today translated in more than 100 languages of the world. And all over the world, In more than 3,000 universities, the Bhagavad Gita by Bhaktivedanta Swami is being used as a reference book. People are reading the Gita, trying to understand what is the goal of life. Please study. Please understand. Spiritual education will teach you what is the goal of life. Lust, anger, and greed are our enemies. When a man dies, the body is still there, but when you say, "How are you?" there's no reply. Am I right? Why they don't reply? The body is the self. Why don't they reply? Because The Atma has gone away. This point is also supported in the Bible. In the Bible it is said, "What shall I do if the gain of the whole world was of the loss of your eternal soul?" You may conquer the whole world, but if you lose your Atma, what have you achieved? This Atma is transmigrating. From one body to another body. Today you have a human body, but tomorrow you may not have a human body. If you— it is based on how we act, we get rewarded. As you sow, you shall reap. So, Ātman doesn't die. Ātman is eternal. And Bhagavad Gita gives that example. Just like we discard our old clothes and wear new clothes, the soul leaves one body and takes on another body. You may say, "Okay, I don't mind taking that body. I want to be Bill Gates." Anyone knows Bill Gates? Yeah? Okay. Everyone says, "I want to be Bill Gates." 'in my next life.' Will that happen? That is influenced by our karma. As you sow, you shall reap. So Krishna says in the chapter on Karma Yoga, 'Act, but act for my pleasure.' Just like all of you are students. How many of you in this audience are PhD students? Now, M.Tech students. You don't have M.Tech here? And B.Tech students. Okay. How many are professors at the faculty? Okay. So, this knowledge about the soul is very important because It will help you to understand we are eternal in nature. And in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, "Act but act for my pleasure." You may say, "How is that practically possible?" All of you are students. Study with a goal. You want to make God the focal point. You want to prove to the world that nothing exists without God. We have a division called Bhaktinanda Institute in which we have people with a scientific background working to establish the supremacy of God. So if you want peace, if you want happiness, want a more tension-free life, read the Bhagavad-gītā. And practice meditation. What does meditation mean? Meditation means connect yourself to God. And the chanting of the Holy Name is very ancient system of meditation. So Bhagavad-gītā is a book of knowledge. It's just not a religious book. I don't know how many of you know, in the West, studying religion is very common, and Bhagavad-gītā is studied in many universities around the world, because it is considered to be one book that answers all questions. Any question you have, "Why am I suffering? What's the goal of life? What should I do to find real happiness?" are all answered in the Bhagavad-gītā. So as we said, taking the spiritual life doesn't mean you're not looking for happiness. Taking the spiritual life doesn't mean you can't pursue your education. You can, but you do it with a changed consciousness. Instead of doing it, doing it for myself, I do it for the pleasure of the Lord. So maybe I find in this course, in the campuses, students have a lot of questions. With this introduction, I can take on some questions. Would that be appropriate? Huh? I find with the student audience, they like asking questions. Hare Krishna. So we'll take on some questions. Please ask questions. There no questions? Yes.

I don't find any stress and anxiety, so why should I All is spirituality.

Okay.

What's your name? Prasad Raaval. I must say you are one in a trillion. Because the whole world acknowledges there is stress, distress, and if you are speaking the truth— we don't take to spiritual life, just say, "Why stress?" Kṛṣṇa tells us, "Get out of this material world and come to the spiritual world, place of no anxiety." So, I may think I'm not in anxiety, but we have. Even if you're going to have no anxiety, are you going to prevent old age? Can you prevent old age? Yes, no? Abhura bhagavan goruksa teo. Vimali goruksa teo. Mithi goruksa teo. No, then what good is it? So you have distress. You never get pain in the body. We do. So there is distress. Kṛṣṇa says two characteristics, duḥ kālaya-muṣaṣataḥ, place and everything is temporary. Okay. More questions?

My question is, whenever I see, whenever I read Gītā, in Gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa has told that our act should be based on Karma Pradhan, and according to the Karma Pradhan Act, we should do our act with sincerity, honesty. And whenever we look towards the spirituality, it's a— to whom you are earning, to whom you are doing all such kind of things? Materialistic world. This world is materialistic. So these spirituality kind of things sometimes distract from our karma. So I find these two things quite contradictory with each other.

With each other.

So can you please highlight that correlation between both? Because I find sometimes, whatever I do, whenever I look towards the—

He's speaking Hindi only. Okay, the thing is, Kṛṣṇa says, "Act for My pleasure." Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna, "With the mind and intelligence dedicated to Me, do your duty." So when we work for Kṛṣṇa, That is perfection. Kṛṣṇa doesn't say, if you are a student, don't get the best grades. He doesn't say don't do PhD. Whatever you do, do it with the mentality, doing it for Kṛṣṇa. Lotus leaf is in water but doesn't touch the water. We should live in the material world but avoid the ill effects. Bodhig Samadhi Mabrahoo, for is bhavana sakarya karo, ye bhagwan ki kushi ke le karayo. Praikarayo, foro is bhavana se, ye bhagwan ki kushi ke le. Aaj yoon di jaye, usko bhagwan ke charname mor bhankaro.

One more, one more question I have. What is the actual knowledge actually? This is the materialistic knowledge, whatever we are having nowadays, it is the actual knowledge? And other than that, spiritual knowledge is the actual knowledge?

There are two types of knowledge. One is material knowledge, one is spiritual knowledge. Material knowledge you get in school, colleges, etc. But you also need spiritual knowledge. You may have one zero, two zero, ten zeros equals to zero. If you add one, the figure becomes 10,000 lakh crore. So without God, everything is incomplete. Just like today, there is so much pollution. Pollution haiya nahi? In Delhi, even if you are a non-smoker, The effect on your lungs is equal to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Okay. Okay. So pollution. Why is pollution there? Pollution is there. We all want more, more, more. More factories, more cars. We want to deviate from simple living, fine thinking. So you get all this. So our philosophy is simple living and high thinking. Okay.

And last question, sorry. In present condition, we are living in the world like kind of we are running towards the materialistic things. So how we can get the spiritual knowledge inside? Such kind of a stressful environment as—

Jai Sai Hamare, previous guru, he is a baddhai. He is managing director of many corporations. He does business, but he does that with immortality. "I should make money to spread Kṛṣṇa's message." And we have many thousands of devotees like him. So, and we have thousands of students like you. They are studying, but they are studying with the intention, "I must please the Lord with my efforts." We all want to please someone, so why not please Kṛṣṇa? Why not please God? Why not lead a disciplined life? And what the Vedas have to offer is the oldest knowledge on the planet. Nobody has any better knowledge. Bible, Quran, all these are books of knowledge, but they are not as old as the Vedic message.

Okay?

More questions? No more? Abhinivebhi pur sakthya prasadam. Is there a time limit to the program? Is there a time limit? 'You say uni majare, yes, I am so big, so may, pashuk uni methi, aal munush uni methi.' So, a munush uni se bhiya unathi karke, the atma de prasad kar sakte ho. Atma abadi bar rahi hai, munush uni mein hain woh aage li bar rahi hai, or jo niche ki uni hai, "Oh, I said, promote, okay? I am not beginning by pointing to me. I say, I am not in the class with the RT, oh. I am in the third class, Mr. Phail, okay? Who with the RT, right? I am in the 9th class with the RT, eh? That's me, I am. Who with me, Ajay? I am a bad import, that's the class. You appreciate with the RT?" O pasni ho hai, or niche kya se ho para hai. So, manush union se ham aage nahi bolte hai. Yeh jussi union mein hai, ho aage bolte hai. Or, aaneek log hai, ye jo prefi jaaap karna hai, janaati hai, yeh bhagwan ki total swasti nahi hai. Bhagwan ki total swasti, isse lag koko na badi hai. Aam ek, is aapke scientists me establish karne, is life on other planets. So, kai planets hai, ek planet ko chhol kar, is planet Māyādhē. Somjay.

Thank you, sir.

Muchi aur.

Good evening, sir.

You have a really, you have a really nice haircut. You have nice haircut. Thank you, sir.

Sir, everyone says that.

You have a nice hair. You're trying to get a break in Hollywood? Okay, okay, I was just joking. In the night time only. Sir, my question is, what is the difference between virtuality and reality? Virtuality? And what do you mean by virtuality? 'One day, I will get 1 crore rupees.' 'Just say, "Bank account, State Bank of India, pay 1 crore yourself."' 'Accountant, teller, what is the balance?' 'Oh, bank is 0.50 lakh rupees.' 'Ek roor ki wajah hai, Rolls-Royce gadi ki wajah hai, cycle mein lijiya hai, ab ho.' We are going on that. So, reality ki aah hoon nene ki aaj ata hai, paramatma ke dwara, paramatma bhagwan kar lupe. Suffering. Atal veda hai mein bhagwan ne poocha ki aaj se maiya kya anta duro gaye hai, arjun ka haan. Do bhagwan ne kap kar ho jaise tumhe tik lagay. Yeh se aap bharat ke seerat se no, aapko wadi kaal hai, aapko chood di gaye hai, sir, kaal ke niyam ko nazar chalo, niyam ko bhiroz mein chalo, niyam ko bhiroz mein jaoge, desh se jaap ho kundi praneet. Mokṣiṣṇa mīmāṣrityaḥ. Sad-dharma-guṣrūga-mayiṣṇa mīyau. Naḍvā insraṣya-karunāḥ. Abhrajmāt. Bhagwan dekhate veṣvachurau. Bhagwan aajun ko ye nika tum bhedhera aur aṣpeho mēnaraṅgā. Bhagwan dekā tum shātryo tum lolo. "Par mandvāramena cintam kartevai." That is why I am telling you that people who have not studied Gītā, they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. So, you have to come and practice Kṛṣṇa. You have to keep on practicing.

I am also practicing.

So, when Kṛṣṇa desires, He will give you the opportunity. Okay, more questions? Yes. Which year?

Second year.

So in your school, you can be late for the class one day, two days. If you're late every day, then you'll get notice. Asleep, you won't go to Sudhana. Om Sudhana Jate. Okay.

Hare Krishna. You are buzzing this. My question is more on a personal note, as in, like, we all know the material world is full of stress, anxiety, frustration, everything. And on the same time, different Vedic scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam says that once we take to spiritual life, what you just now said, abandon all so-called duties and surrender to me. So my question is, on a personal note, that whether the people who have taken the spiritual life, like yourself and many more devotees are sitting here who are like lifetime missionaries and they have abandoned their material life and leading a spiritual life. So a question is that whether those people or the people of your stature are they too undergoing some kind of stress or some kind of frustration?

Okay, I understand.

Thank you.

Origin is pure Sanskrit, Sukhimane. Sukhimane is the word for the universe itself. Origin is the manifestation of the Jyoti Jyoti Pada. It's very different. Both are called the origin, but both are sukhimane. I am chatting. You have to absorb the Advaita Sukha Prasada. Is there my opinion? There is an English word. Is there a person? Hindi word is "he." Is there a role I attend? The charaka in English. Gyan sabha, sukhimanana, chhaten. Apuche. Yes, sir. You have a question? Galgam kar rahi. Yaan, ab sudar sakthe ho. Preashkar sakthe ho sudar niga. Sushnane sakthe ho dukh sungho. Woh se yog de. Ameenike te, agar galgam kar rahi, tum dekho to chup raho. Sudar sakthe ho.

immediately transform. Why, why do we await it? Why it does not happen spontaneously? Because the same connection is there everywhere. Every body, the soul is there.

So that transformation should Why does it take time to persuade people that you come to Guru Mahāprabhu? Google ka camera hai cheez punajara ke. To aye, amra aaneen hai karte. Okay. We stop now. Prasad Ji, my question is, the service, the service of mankind is service of God, it is right or not? True service of mankind is service to God, provided you're giving mankind the right message. If I want money to buy liquor and you give me money, that's no service. If you do give me free medical aid, but I don't change my life, it's no service. If we tell people, "How do you give up?" Agaram logu ko kehe, aape kam kase Thiago, wo hai asli seva. Aan logu ko maan darshan diya weshaktaye, aayam aane deishno samay mein, un nithy di kamee hai, yogi asli maan darshan diya re. Tu iss shiksha kiya weshaktaye. Aanei doogi prachara ke, Yoga Pranam, Mantra Blessing, Ram Yoga Care, and Properly Serve Gita Kena Skara. I'll take one or two questions and then stop. I'm sorry. Please evolve. Angalkam karte isme atma gako idoshne. Bhagwan ne ham sab ko buddhi diye, mandiyaa indiyaa naye. Aagayame ka durupyo kare, fehik purinaam hota hai. Aasudh puriyo kare, padusa purinaam. Aap sunge. Ātmaka is my co-creator, that is all.

More questions?

Sarakī dūsitau garīcchilau. Isargarmāvkaragi anunam ko pātaho na jay. Gītā ketvāram samasaktayo. Ya sāche, ya yudhe. Kīṭṭhī gītā nāhīdharaḥ gowāḥ. Okay. You can stop now. Prayasakarne abhaya kadām lo bhagwan gitrāv, mandaṣkarām lethe, pujaala lo ne chuṭhe, or yidhiktaikarthen, prayasakaroge yisara lo jāgā. So I want to thank all of you. Very sincere. I have another engagement. Okay. Thank you. English. And if you chant Hare Krishna, read Gītā, You will also get good grades in school. You will get good marks in your exams. You know why? That you don't have any bad habits. You don't take drugs that weaken your intelligence. Thank you very much. Very blessed to have been here. I want to thank the organizers for organizing this program at very short notice.

Okay. Maharajji, your life is inspiration to us.

No.

And like me, many students, many faculty members So we are really feeling inspired and motivated, and I am really thankful to you for answering questions, especially by our kids. And I understand that their questions are not very clear, but still I appreciate, you know, their inquisitiveness, and they are on the path of spirituality.

We can have regular programs here. We can have Regular programs. One of the things we do all over the world is have lectures on Bhagavad-gītā all over the world.

So at this, uh, in our practice every year there is at least one program from ISKCON, uh, which is taking place, and there are a few students like Mithilesh and there are many senior students and junior students We are trying to form a group here which should frequently meet and discuss on Bhagavad-gītā.

So we are on the path to do that. It will be very nice if you facilitate. Amurisanga denpoile, ida paroge hainao loge, buddhishuddho gi, oshantika jivanmita loge. Don't stress.